A Blood Moon
by CrossedTheBarrierForPizza
Summary: Moon and Pine. Two sisters who decided to leave their old, nightmare of a life in BloodClan behind them, leaving their brother alone as well after pulling off a dangerous crime. Killing the leader. Now outlaws, they take refuge in a clan of forest cats they soon learn to call family. But old problems resurface, and they wonder if what they did and the choices they made were right.
1. Chapter 1

Wind blew across the empty field of grass, each blade hanging on to dear life by its roots as it blew harder and harder til the leaves of the nearby oak trees danced in its uneven rhythm and spun high into the sky, disappearing into the moon's weak light. Through the tall grasses, a small black and white pelted kit struggled against the wind as it threatened to carry her off. Her blue eyes watered and reflected the light of the moon above, her ears flattened to the sides of her head and whiskers about to fly out of their sockets.

Her flanks barely moved as she managed to swallow gulps of air, only for it to be ripped out of her again. The cold of Autumn chilled her to the bone and the fact that it was nighttime, wasn't helping either, for it was much colder than it was in the morning's rays of light. "Perhaps this was a bad idea." She meowed just as another cat joined her side.

"I would rather wander lost with you, than remain a prisoner and die." A voice responded and the cat turned her head. A light brown pelted cat with white stripes, her sister and best friend looked back at her, her deep, green eyes bore into her blues, warmth and trust displayed there made the cat feel warm. She padded over to her side and pressed her nose against her ear. "Thank you, Pine."

She nodded. "You're welcome, sis." She smiled, "Besides, I'm the older sister!" The black cat's smile fell, "By a few heartbeats!" Pine rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, c'mon, Moon." She flicked her bushy tail, beckoning to Moon as she gained speed and began to run, the sound of heavy paw steps drew closer, alerting the two.

"They found us!" Moon squeaked, sprinting as fast as he short legs could carry her, Pine followed closely behind, whiskers twitching in fear as her heart thumped against her chest as it attempted to break free from its hold. "Moon, Pine, get your tails back here you mouse-brains!" A voice snarled, scaring them into pounding their paws against the ground, running faster than they thought they could, the scent of crow-food and decay filling their nostrils and made them want to gag.

"Spike is behind us!" Pine yowled, Moon glanced behind them, sure enough, the two horrifying red eyes of Spike stared back, his jaws open, revealing glistening teeth, blood dripping from his maw from the injury the two cats had given him under his cheek and his lip. _Mouse-brain! Did you really think you would get away so easily?_

"Pine, hurry in front of me, I'm faster!" Moon called and Pine shot her a confused look, "What has that got to do with anything?" She shouted above the wind. Moon rolled her eyes. "I'm going to lead him off, you hurry into the trees!" She pointed her tail toward the thick band of trees known to them as, "The Howling Forest."

Pine's jaw dropped, "Are you crazy? Going in there is suicide!" She squeaked, Moon nodded and glanced at Spike. "Would you rather die to him?" Moon asked, Pine rolled her eyes, "Fine, but meet me in-" She broke off as Spike leaped onto her, she shrieked in fear and batted at him futilely in hopes of knocking him off. Moon slowed and turned, time seemed to slow as Spike placed a paw on Pine's throat and swung with the opposite one.

Scratching her right eye.

Pine screamed as blood welled from the wound, Spike seemed to enjoy her pain and raised his paw to strike again, only to be flung into the air as Moon crashed into him, sending him into a thick patch of leaves not far off. Pine scrambled to her paws and looked to her sister, urgency and fear in her eyes, "I can't see! I can't see out of my right eye!" She yowled, Moon looked at the wound and her ears fell. Her eyelid was shut and the wound draped right over it, blood staining the grass a crimson color.

"Will you listen to me now?" Moon snapped and Pine nodded, staring at her with her left eye. Moon pointed back at the forest. "Hurry up! I'll hold him off!" She shouted again, Pine nodded and padded over to her sister, giving her ear a quick lick, she darted off into the distance while Moon watched, tail flicking as her heart grew heavy, knowing that she was now alone with Spike.

"Fox-hearts!" Spike's voice rasped and Moon turned to meet him, eyes scared and legs shaking as the tom laughed, smelling her fear scent and gave her a spine tingling grin. "Guess cat's on the menu tonight."


	2. Blood Moon Ch2

Moon's eyes opened to a dim light, she yawned and immediately regretted doing so as a sharp pain shot through her from neck to tail tip. She winced as she settled herself back onto her belly, surprised by the soft bed of moss and feathers tucked beneath her. Her whiskers twitched with curiosity and she glanced around, impatiently waiting for her eyes to adjust. Her ears twitched as the sound of swishing vines.

"Oh, you're awake!" A voice meowed. A small headache hit her like a blow to the head and she groaned, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it only to become dizzy and disoriented. She settled her chin on her folded paws and closed her eyes as her head buzzed and filled with activity. A dark gray and black tabby she-cat padded up to her, concern in her pale-green eyes.

"Here, eat this." Moon's eyes blinked open as something poked her nose. A tiny black seed leaned against her nose and Moon furrowed her brow in confusion. Her eyes trailed up to the she-cat, her eyes displayed warmth and concern. Closing her eyes, she stuck out her tongue and licked up the seed.

"Make sure you chew it, I'll return when you wake up with something for you to eat." She meowed, her black-tipped tail vanishing through the brambles covering the entrance to the shelter. _She seems nice._

Chewing the seed, Moon swallowed and yawned, surprised by the seed's affects. She felt exhausted, almost as if she had run through "The Howling Forest" and back to "Home." She struggled to keep her eyes open as the world blurred around her. _Was this cat trying to kill me?!_ Finally, her eyes betrayed her and shut themselves as darkness consumed her.

Moon woke up with a start, eyes wide and a huge yawned racked her body, the light that shone through earlier had dimmed and had taken on an orang-ish tint. _The sun is going down_. Standing, she noticed that her body had calmed and the pain from before had vanished along with her headache. She could clearly see her surrounding this time. A rock cave that lead to a back room, the sound of water echoed from the back. She guessed their was a pool back there.

A sharp, sweet smell filled the air and the scent of plants joined it with a hint of….honey? Moon shook her head, dismissing the idea of snooping and strolled out of the brambles, eyes narrowing at the strong light that hit her. She was given no time to adjust as the breath was knocked out of her as she was knocked to the ground.

Letting out a sharp hiss, Moon unsheathed her claws only for a voice to stop her. "Moon, I'm glad you're okay!" Pine's voice came, she let out a relieved sigh and an annoyed purr. Shaking off her littermate, she chuckled and turned to face her. "Yeah, it's good to see you-" She trailed off as she looked around, eyes widening and jaw dropping as cats filled the clearing. Some talking, other sunbathing, playing, and leaving through a barrier of thorns.

This was _not_ like where she came from, _not_ what she ran from and _not_ what she expected. It was beautiful.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Came a familiar voice. Moon turned to the voice to see the tabby from before. Her eyes held amusement and from her jaws hung a dead...mouse? She placed the rodent down at her paws and gave Pine's ear a swift lick and a purr rumbled in her throat. Moon tilted her head, confused by the affection the cat was giving her sister, who seemed to enjoy it.

"Sorry, Dappledleaf, I must have woke her up." Pine laughed, the tabby chuckled. "Silly kits, always getting into trouble." She meowed, her attention finally turned to Moon, who's deep blue pools displayed pure confusion. "In time, you'll learn young kit, for now, eat." The tabby purred, pushing the mouse in front of Moon's paws. The black kit gave a skeptical look before taking a bite. Her eyes lit up in delight. _It's_ so _delicious!_ A satisfied purr rose from her throat as she finished her meal, leaving behind bones with bits of fur left. Pine laughed.

"Guess I didn't have to explain to you how delicious fresh-kill is." She sniffed, smiling at her sister. She rose her head from the pile of bones and blinked, noticing a change in the cat before her. Pine, back at Home, was always tense and quiet, never quite sure of things and scared to make mistakes. But now, she seemed at peace and was already getting in trouble. Moon relaxed.

"Yeah, it's great!" She replied, licking her lips of the stray pieces of food. "My favorite is the squirrel so far, Stonekit says they run out of it during this time of year, though." Moon furrowed her brow. "Stone...'kit'?" Pine seemed truly amused.

"They're a clan, and the kits are given names, but with 'kit' at the end, and then the ones who are training to be warriors get 'paw' at th-" "Wait….warriors? Did some cat offer you catnip?" Moon chuckled, Pine's smile fell and she rolled her eyes. "Just talk to Cherrystar, she'll explain everything." Then she left to join a group of kits who seemed to be chasing a cat who was carrying a long tendril behind him.

She never felt so alone.

Pine was already making friends in this place of, strangely, friendly cats while she was left next to the den she woke up in. She needed to talk to someone.

Turning tail, she ran back into the den and crashed into Dappledleaf's hind leg. The she-cat yelped and turned to confront her only for her fur to lie flat as she noticed Moon's panicked expression. "Is something wrong?" She sniffed, obviously recovering from shock. "Where am I?" Came her simple question. Dappledleaf chuckled and stepped through the cave entrance. She looked over her shoulder.

"Come, kit. Let me take you to Cherrystar."

Moon's pelt prickled as she looked at the slim, yet strong form of Cherrystar, her white pelt with ginger spots shone brightly in the evening sun. She felt small compared to this cat's size. Her pale blues looked down into hers.

"Hello, kit. I hope you are well." She meowed, rising from her side in her moss nest and sitting, tail wrapped around her paws elegantly. "What is your name? The clan has already met your sister, Pine, but never got around to you, for we were more focused on your wounds. The kit's fur lied flat. She seemed kind enough, it was still going to take a bit of getting used to, just on her way over to the tall boulder they called, "Highrock" some cats shot her several sympathetic looks.

"Moon, my name is Moon." She said proudly but quickly shrank back as she noticed the alarm in Cherrystar's eyes and the fear scent rolling off of Dappledleaf in waves. She glanced around in worry. "I-Is something wrong?" Moon asked, feeling more scared than when she was facing Spike in the grasses.

"No, it's alright, you were simply telling us your name." Cherrystar assured, avoiding Moon's gaze and looking into Dappledleaf's eyes instead. "Go join the kits in the nursery to the right of my den, the den with the sound of squealing kits coming from it, can't miss it." Cherrystar laughed, Moon could tell she was trying to put off the tension from a moment ago, but it didn't help much.

She dipped her head politely to the clan leader before leaping down from the rock wall and made her way to the nursery, stiff-legged and unsure.

 _Why were they afraid of my name?_

No

 _Why were they afraid of me?_


End file.
